Naruto: The Path of Youth!
by The Unsung Villain
Summary: We all the story of Naruto the orphan, but what happens if Naruto gets raised by someone within the village? What happens if that person just happens to be a youthful jounin of Konoha? But he won't do it alone. How will this unfold? Read inside!
1. Notice from the Author

I'm writing this quick announcement because I want the people reading this story to know that this story is not dead. I know it's been quite a few weeks since my last post, but I've been having things come together in my life recently. I'm currently enlisted in the Navy and I'm awaiting my ship date in June. Also, recently I got a laptop so I will be able to use more of my free time towards writing. Look forward to a renovated first chapter coming up soon. I looked over the chapters and frankly I wasn't impressed. I KNOW I can do better than what I've submitted. So, don't give up on me just yet my fellow fiction readers. I promise to have this out by this upcoming Friday.


	2. Chapter 1: The Unyouthful Beginning

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or any characters associated with said series. I do however, own the characters that are of my own creation within the Naruto universe.**

**Naruto: The Path of Youth**

_Chapter 1: Unyouthful Beginnings_

"Kakashi! There you are, I've been searching the entire village hunting you! I've come to challenge you yet again!" shouted a man as he jumped beside the masked figure standing on the balcony over looking the village of Konohagakure.

"Hmm, you say something Guy?" The figure turned and looked towards the oddly dressed man with a look of absolute boredom. Said man face-planted to the ground and began crying about hipsters and whatnot as he picked himself up off the ground.

"Why are you really here Guy?" The man called Kakashi spoke out before the man could regain his bearings.

Guy recognized the tone of voice that Kakashi was using and instantly dropped his overly immature and ignorant facade. If Kakashi was serious, then either something extremely bad had already happened or was in the process of happening.

"The moon is disturbingly red today. But not only does the color concern me, it's the fact that it is so clearly visible in the middle of the day that truly disturbs me. Not only that but everything in the village seems to be going to hell in a sense." Guy had been contemplating the various omens that he had noticed around town, and frankly he was a bit frightened.

"Today's the day. I can just feel it coming already. I'm sure Sensei has already prepared whatever he plans to use to take that thing down." Kakashi could sense Guy's unease and he had to admit that he felt just as uncomfortable with what was going to happen.

Kakashi turned to face Guy without his ANBU mask on and they both shared the same thoughts, they need to make sure all the jounin and chuunin are prepared for the battle ahead, as well as begin the genins on evacuation duty. Rumors had been spreading throughout the elemental nations that the strongest bijuu alive, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, was rampaging through Hi no Kuni, rumors also speculated that Konohakagure was in the midst of it's path.

As the two jounin bounded along rooftops spreading words of warning to anyone who would listen, three men were meeting inside the Hokage's office with the Hokage tower in the center of the village. One man was a tall man with extremely bright yellow hair, the next was an older man of about average height who looked too old to have ever been a ninja, and the last was a man who stood over them all and had long white hair.

These three men were quite possibly the strongest men in the elemental nations, and they were there discussing battle plans, because they had felt the same unease that Kakashi had experienced. The plan itself was relatively simple, the blonde man, also known as the Yondaime Hokage, would arrive on the scene after the elite jounin of Konoha had either weakened or completely distracted the Fox, from there he would take over the battle and allow the wounded and dead to be evacuated , then he would what he liked to call his unpredictable strategy. He would attack the enemy on the spot and plan on the fly, it worked great against those of the Uchiha clan, and from there the plan became slightly complicated. It was common knowledge that all bijuu were immortal, so how then was he supposed to defeat the strongest of them all when it started destroying his village?

That was a question simply answered for a person of his skills. He would have to seal the demon, but what out there could hold a demon within itself and not instantly release it, after researching for several days the Yondaime Hokage, also known as Namikaze Minato, and the white haired man, Jiraiya of the Sannin, discovered that if you placed a specific seal on the demon and a human that the demon would be sealed inside.

The complications arose on two occassions, first of all the person would have to be someone who could easily grow used to the chakra, so they singled out everyone in the village except for the new born. Also during their research, neither Minato nor Jiraiya had discovered a seal that would guarantee that the Jinchuuriki of the demon would remain sane or in-control of the demon. So they had spent the last several weeks combining years and years of fuuinjutsu expertise and created what Minato had named the Shiki Fuuin. The seal was designed to entirely suppress the Kyuubi's chakra except for just enough to allow the body to safely absorb it.

"I'm going to put the seal on my son." Jiraiya and the other man, the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen went wide-eyed.

"You've got to be kidding me Minato," Jiraiya had found his voice first, "Kushina-chan, Tsunade-hime, nor myself would allow that! You must have another option!" Jiraiya had recently found out that he was going to be a godfather, he didn't want to risk losing his godchild so soon, and he doubted that Kushina would agree to it so soon after being in labor.

"Jiraiya is right Minato, there has to be another option. Couldn't you ask one of the clan heads to sacrifice a child for this task? I'm sure they would be honored to serve the Yondaime Hokage." Hiruzen started off seriously, but had managed to end it in a light tone.

"You know, I'm actually not surprised by either of your reactions." Minato chuckled. "But, how can I expect someone to give up their child, when I as a father could not even consider it. It would make me a disgraceful hypocrite of the highest order, and that I will not allow."

Jiraiya and Hiruzen made to protest again, but Minato held his hand up to silence them. They knew he had made his decision and there was no changing his mind. Unless... Jiraiya smiled to himself as he slowly began plotting against the young blonde Hokage.

"There's one last thing I wanted to tell both of you about the seal. It has a one-hundred percent fatality rate towards the user. It harnesses every ounce of chakra within the body to bring forth Shinigami-sama himself to present the summoner with one favor, in this regard the favor would to seal the enormous power that is the Kyuubi." Both men paled at Minato's calm description of the amazing jutsu that they had just heard.

"So not only will your son be a Jinchuuriki, he will also be without a father." The eldest man spoke. "He will clearly not lead a very easy life."

Minato's gaze turned to Hiruzen, and it was obvious that the man had already thought of the consequences of his actions. "I came to that same conclusion myself. My only hope is that Kushina raises him well, and that the village treats him as a hero." His voice exposed the internal battle that was waging within his mind.

"On a lighter note, We've decided on a name." At this Minato turned and faced Jiraiya. "We're going to call him Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto." He was smiling now, a gesture that Jiraiya happily returned, until the full meaning of the Hokage's statement hit him.

"Uzumaki? You're going to strip him of his heritage as well?" Jiraiya was shocked, what possible reason could there be to remove the boy's proper name.

"Since very few people know about Kushina-chan and I, I figured it best if he took on her last name to allow her time to raise him, and to keep my enemies at bay." Jiraiya nodded at this. He didn't like the idea but he had to agree with it.

"I'm very proud to have served with both of you. But today will mean goodbye. I must take my leave so that I can place my Hiraishin seals around the area. Also I must go talk to Kushina-chan." Minato formed several one-handed seals before disappearing in a flash of yellow.

"Wanna wager on the outcome of that confrontation? My money says Kushina-chan decks him." Jiraiya was chuckling, now if only he could find Tsunade...

"I believe she will be more understanding than you give her credit for. She was always a smart one, and will more than likely see reason." Hiruzen was chuckling now, "I wager she will kick him through a wall, before she finds said reason." said the now retired Hokage as he placed several bills of currency on the table.

"Oh ho ho. I see you haven't lost your wild side sensei." Jiraiya joked as he matched the amount of money on the desk. "Hmm, I guess I should go to the hospital to see what damage has been done." With that Jiraiya disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Kakashi! Let us turn this into a competition, whoever warns the most groups wins!" Before Kakashi could deny the challenge Guy was off like a shot. So he of course had to participate, or else he'd never hear the end of it.

Back at the hospital.

"You what?" screamed Kushina, she was still under heavy medication after going through several hours of labor. "You seriously thought I would agree to that? No! Make some other parents do it. I will not give up my child, ESPECIALLY NOT ON THE DAY OF HIS BIRTH!" Minato took a few steps back. He couldn't say he was surprised though. He knew his wife could be a bit of a hot head at times. But she had just fallen into the same argument that he had used against his sensei and his predecessor.

"You are so unwilling to agree, but yet you willing sacrifice the child of another. Do you not already see the error of that plan?" Minato needed to word this carefully. " I know that this is extremely hard, but how can we as parents ask someone else to do something that we ourselves are not willing to do?" Kushina began tearing up when she realized that there was no other way.

"Why our son, why must he lose so much in place of the entire village? You know how ignorant they are, they will fear him." She was crying now. Minato placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"This will not keep him back. Not only will he be a hero in the eyes of those worthy enough to see him as such, but he will gain the power of the Kyuubi. I believe that someday he will pass Sensei." Minato smiled as he pictured his son, Naruto, standing tall on the balcony of Hokage Tower waving to all of his beloved followers. "And do not forget that you will be by his side the entire time." Minato flashed her a grin that he knew she loved, but instead of her usual reaction she just burst further into hysterics.

"That will never come to be. Just before you arrived, I received news from the nurses that I was bleeding internally. Something went wrong during the delivery. I won't live to see tomorrow. Not even Tsunade-sama could do anything to save me." Minato's eyes widened, he had not expected that news. But, then that meant... his son would be orphaned at birth.

"I'm sure Tsunade-san or Jiraiya-sensei will be more than willing to take care of him. He will never truly be alone, so long as he calls this village home." Minato had embraced his wife in the midst of his speech.

When he had finished speaking, a nurse walked in carrying a small bundle, when she was bedside she gently handed the bundle on to Kushina. Once the baby was securely within his mother's arms, the nurse backed away a few steps, bowed to the Hokage, and stepped out of the room.

"He's so beautiful. He is a spitting image of his father." Kushina smiled as she looked down at her son. "Namikaze Naruto. It has such a ring to it."

"He won't be carrying my name, he will carry yours." Minato looked his wife in the eyes and saw the confusion. "I have too many enemies that will come after him, once word gets out. That is the last thing I want. I will however allow him to choose his name once he graduates the academy. Because he will then be under the watch of a jounin sensei so would be safe to do so." Kushina nodded her understanding.

"WHERE IS HE? WHERE IS THAT BLONDE-HEADED BASTARD?" both of the occupants of the room recognized that drunken voice anywhere. They shared a quick glance and after placing a quick kiss on his son's forehead, Minato vanished once again in a flash of yellow.

Just seconds after he vanished, an angry woman burst through the door. The scene of Kushina looking down at her son was enough to calm the woman who was in a state of drunken rage. "Kushina... He's beautiful. What's his name?" The gentleness in Tsunade's features were so unlike the woman, it was downright frightening.

"His name is Uzumaki Naruto." She said as they both looked into the face of the sleeping child.

Hours Later

"Fall back! The signal has been launched! Grab the wounded and the dead and get back!" yelled a jounin with a horizontal scar across his nose.

Just as the man shouted a giant paw crashed down on top of him killing him instantly. Several other men were crushed by giants thrashing about knocking trees everywhere. Some men were impaled by the giant debris and others were crushed mercilessly.

"It's hopeless, we can't outrun that thing!" shouted a random chuunin who was attempting to rescue his partner.

"Wait, He's here! Hokage-sama is here!" shouted another man who was still running towards the village.

True to the man's word, Minato had just arrived on the scene riding atop the boss summon of the toads, Gamabunta who immediately upon seeing the Kyuubi no Kitsune, began shouting.

"This? This is what you summoned me for? What the hell is wrong with you and Jiraiya kid? Why can't you ever summon me for a drinking binge or something? Damnit, You owe me the best Sake on the market after this." Gamabunta ranted.

"You'll have to put that on Jiraiya's tab. I'm afraid I won't make it out of this one alive old friend." Minato spoke in a solemn voice. He had already accepted his fate.

"So this is one of those missions, eh? Fine, but you better not be doing this without having thought it through first kid." Gamabunta began charging as he finished speaking.

This was all apart of Minato's think on the fly plan, He had summoned Gamabunta on instinct and told him he had a huge fight that he really needed to win. From there they had proceeded to the clearing where they now occupied with the Kyuubi standing menacingly in front of them, when they began charging the Kyuubi simply opened it's giant maw and began roaring, the air became so laced with chakra that it knocked Gamabunta back so hard he was forced to return to his dimension at Mt. Myōboku.

"**You dare attack me with that pathetic summon, ningen?**" growled out the Kyuubi as it stood at it's full height attempting to intimidate the Yondaime. The killer intent that it was outputting easily doubled the force of the entire Iwa army.

"Actually that was part of the plan, but even the best laid plans go awry. But I'm not going to back down now. I will avenge every life that you have taken here today!" Minato shouted as he pulled out his trademark tri-point kunai and launched it at the Kyuubi.

"**Pathetic.**" The Kyuubi growled as it simply prepared to swat the kunai away. What it happened expected was the suddent shout of,

"_Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!"_

The Kyuubi mentally cursed as it had not expected the sheer number of kunai that had multiplied from the original. It had successfully swatted a majority of them away, but several had bitten into it's side and felt like needle pricks.

"**Do you truly believe that your tricks can defeat me ningen?"** Minato had to stick his feet to the ground with his chakra as the fox had stomped it's paw into the ground to make its point, creating a minor earthquake in the process.

"Actually I'm halfway to obtaining that achievement right now." Minato spoke as he instantly blurred in flash of yellow.

Minato's plan now simply consisted of blurring around and distracting the Kyuubi long enough to connect with a direct hit, that or to connect with the other half of the Shiki Fuuin. Once he saw an opening he would take it. And just as the thought crossed his mind, said opening presented itself.

The Kyuubi wasn't used to someone moving at such speeds, so every time it saw a blur it would lash out with its tails, or it would snap out at it with its giant mouth. But after one final blur it over extended putting itself slightly off balance.

"This is for all the men and women you have killed, and for all the lives that will be ruined by loss. Let this be a reminder to you. DON'T FUCK WITH KONOHA! RASENGAN!" The spiraling sphere of pure chakra connected with the beast's neck and completed the process of knocking it off balance.

Before the Kyuubi could regain his footing Minato had already blurred above him and was blurring through hand seals at an inhuman pace. "This will insure that you never harm another human life ever again!" And with that the seal was in place.

Instantly upon the placement of the seal, the sky began to fill with blood red clouds that hung over the battle, and from the center of the clouds shone a single light that fell upon the seal that was now placed on the stomach of the Kyuubi. From the single light rose a figure with the face of an Oni, dressed in a white traditional kimono.

"Who dares summon me to this world?" questioned the being in a guttural voice. The figure turned to look at it's surroundings. Then his gaze fell upon Minato. "You. Did you summon me here?"

"Hai, Shinigami-sama. It was I who brought you here. I beg that you seal the soul of this creature within the body of an infant. I have already placed a seal on both of them but only you can finish this process. And in offering for this task I will give you both the foxes and my body and soul." Minato could stop the small shiver that ran up his spine as the figure seemed to stare him down.

"I have seen your soul, it is as pure as your intentions so I will allow this. I will also allow you to say your final goodbyes." The ethereal figure turned to the fox as it spoke, "You however will be going away right this instant." As he spoke the seal began glowing a vibrant red.

The actual sealing process was the most bizarre thing Minato had ever seen. The fox had began shrinking in size until he was no larger than a normal fox. The weirdest thing was when the Kyuubi opened it's mouth a giant glowing orb of what seemed to be red chakra was ejected from within it. Then when the ball was floating above the fox, the Kyuubi seemed to fold in on itself almost as if it were about to implode.

When Minato thought the fox could get no smaller, it simply vanished. Once the figure had finished sealing away the Kyuubi, he turned towards Minato and gestured an open hand towards him. The motion caused the giant orb to move towards Minato and to begin shrinking in size, it shrunk until it was about the size of one of his Rasengans.

"Take this orb of chakra and place it against the seal of your child. The seal will absorb it and immediately function as you designed it to. I also placed the Kyuubi's mind with the orb so when the day comes the boy will be able to call upon it for power." The ghost-like man turned to look at the clouds. " I have given you enough life for another thirty minutes. Use it wisely. Do not worry about shortening your life through chakra usage. I will completely restore your reserves." Minato looked relieved. That had actually been a concern that had passed through his mind.

"Thank you Shinigami-sama. You have allowed me to save countless lives tonight." With another blur of yellow Minato was gone.

"Your son will grow to be a great man. Namikaze Naruto will truly be an undying legend." The death god spoke to no one in general.

Within the Hokage Tower

"Sensei, Hokage-san." Minato nodded to both of the men as he entered the room through his favorite jutsu. "I'm here to leave you my son, as well as ask you to take good care of him. This shall be the last time that we will ever part." Minato handed a small bundle to Hiruzen as he spoke.

"Minato-kun. You are a stronger man than I. I could never have gone through with something like this." Jiraiya said as he looked down at the small child within the bundle. "He looks exactly like you, except for those six whisker marks." Jiraiya said as he noticed the boys prominent feature.

"You were a great leader Minato. I'm sure your son will grow to become a great man regarded highly in this village." Hiruzen spoke mostly to himself because he knew exactly how the village was going to react.

"I am leaving all my possessions to him, but not until he graduates the academy and is placed on a genin team." Minato handed Hiruzen a letter closed by a blood seal and a key that was attached to the letter via a miniscule seal. "Give this to him when that time comes. My time is up now. I hope that someday we can reminisce in the afterlife." Minato said in a low voice as his body began to fade from the world.

With Minato gone, both Jiraiya and Hiruzen began to discuss the potential future of the child, and knew that the council would want a say in the matter. Hiruzen was rubbing his temples and Jiraiya let out a long sigh. Tomorrow would truly be a long and trying day.


End file.
